


Traitors and Theives

by mylovelylions



Category: One Piece
Genre: Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22008448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylovelylions/pseuds/mylovelylions
Summary: Zoro/OC. Mata Hara has lived her entire life in the service of the Marines since she was abandoned when she was a baby. One impulsive decision changes her life at the Battle of Marineford and she's left to keep a promise that she made to her old mentor, Garp.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. The Battle of Marineford

_Blood. So much blood._ As the battle had come closer to the platform, the sound of it splattering through the air and across the cement had become more apparent. It was horrid. For the rest of Mata Hara's life, she would be able to smell it on her skin, the thick, salty scent infusing into the strands of her hair. The air was so thick with it that for a moment or two the ebony haired girl thought that the fog that had started to roll from the melting ice was thickened with the death and slaughter like a contagion that had even reached the wind.

Lightly, a breeze whipped down the high walls of the headquarters. Mata had trailed her fingers along the rock so many times in her long life inside the Marines that the tips of her fingers had grown tough with callouses. The walls of Marineford shook. Impregnable, they had said. Now they were crumbling beneath the combined assault of a million pirate ships and a few giants. And even due to the Navy themselves.

In their haste, some had bombed the sides, canon fire denting the exterior. But nothing came close to the destruction that the giant Oars had caused.

"HEY!" Sengoku screamed, his fingers tensing into tight balls as the Marine's below. Over the tall walls of Marineford, Mata picked out the final, desperate charge of the pirates. Her eyes narrowed, the unnatural green of the irises flashing as she stared across the body flooded area. Wavy, obsidian black hair rolled down to her chest, dancing in the wind. What few of the younger, less battle hardened officers was that the aura's of the pirates making their way toward the fallen giant was far from final. It was near bewildering the the emerald eyed girl. They were beat down, bleeding - their numbers cut in half and their main mission set so far in enemy lines that reaching him would be impossible. "What's wrong?! It should be activated!"

Down below, the Marine lacky below fumbled, others clustering desperately around the fallen body of Oars. "I-I'm afraid that the wall can't lift the giant body of Oars!"

Kneeling before Mata, the ebony haired boy shift, his shackles grating across the metal bolts and paneling, his head lifting a bit to stare tensely out at the scene before him. Mata's eyes narrowed into slits, the guns at her hips and in her shoulder holsters glinting in the pale light. Although she didn't like to admit it, she had grown some... _sympathies_ for the men and women bombarding Marineford.

Portgas D. Ace had a big mouth on him and Mata Hara had been his constant companion after the breakout of former warlord Jinbe and his move to Impel Down. Under orders of Sengoku and the other admirals she had been assigned to him as an extra layer of protection. Mata had no illusions on the reasons. She was a deadshot and in the delicate features of her face there was a serenity that belied her inner thoughts. Her shorter frame and appearance of disinterest had earned her quick rank increases and missions that few others would receive. Because the only thing that truly stood out about her was the unsettling color of her eyes, Mata Hara was able to blend very easily into crowds and corridors. And over the years she had used that to her full advantage.

At that very moment, what Mata Hara was thinking was that the death of Oars was more than a _little_ unsettling. It made her heart itch in ways that she found extremely irritating. And even more annoying to her was the fact that one Portgas D. Ace was crying, his shoulders rolling in silent wails and his spine bent as he sunk forward. If it weren't for the shackles, drawing his shoulder blades at a painfully stiff angle that anchored him back he would fall forward. A muscle in Mata's face twitched, her lips thinning as her eyes flicked over the bruises that danced around his spine and kissed his ribs. He was filthy, dirt caking his skin, collecting in the curve of his collarbone and along the defined ridges of his abs and ribs.

For a bit, they had starved him. Then taken away his water so that the food they shoved through his grate was inedible. He had lost over 20 pounds and his skin had been so raw from the boiling vat that he had been thrown in the first day had made the rough brick walls and ground that he had to sleep on unbearable.

It was the first time in 19 years since she had been left on the doorsteps of the Navy with only a name that she had come face to face with the cruelty that the Marine's held inside their walls.

"Th-they're dying." Emerald eyes flicked over to stare at the chained boy, his eyes wide as sweat and tears tracked through the dirt coloring his skin. On his other side, Old Man Garp shifted. Sengoku refused to see the signs. Mata wasn't so diluted. The Old Man was so close to breaking that she could smell it in the air.

A winced tsk hissed from Sengoku, his arms crossing tightly over his chest. "Hara!"

The ebony haired girl shifted, the bullet holders crossing her chest shifting into place over the bandages that bound her breasts and waist, the material thick and constraining. It was very easy to tell what type of fighter she was. Worn leather holders stacked with bullets looped across her torso, banding her arms and thighs and hanging lowly around her waist. A sharpshooter, her haki had been given to her at birth.

Slowly, like a dog that was suddenly remembering that it had a master, her head lowered. "Yes, Fleet Admiral?"

Mata easily caught the sniper rifle tossed at her, shock running through her as her grip adjusted easily around the weapon.

"Shoot anyone that comes over the giant." Unfamiliar pain lashed through ebony as she stared at the imposing figure of Sengoku.

Mata had been mentored by all the admirals. Each of them had given her small nuggets of advice and training. They had let her fight with them until she couldn't move, her body feeling like a discarded glove covered in sweat. And then they had laughed, helping her to her feet and leading her to the mess hall. She had admired them. When had that changed?

" _Food call!" Mata's eyes flicked up from the rifle that she was cleaning, her lips thinning as she saw the usual marine hauling in the usual slop. He gave her a smile and a nod as he neared her spot, weapons and cleaning supplies sprawled around her as she sat crossed legged by the imposing door. Secretly, none of the other marines could fathom why the utterly ordinary, small girl was guarding the infamous pirate. What they didn't know was that more than keeping him in, she was there to keep all rescuers out. The slamming the bolt back into place, the click reverberating off the thick, cement walls._

_When had their jokes become unbearable?_

_The butt of her riffle slammed into place, barring the grate as the marine ducked down to slide it through. His brown eyes widened, brows furrowing in confusion. Mata stared at her for a moment, her expression deceptively impassive but her eyes blazing angrily._

" _Where's the water?" Slowly, a crooked smile curled the man's lips._

" _Haven't you heard? Your prisoner's trying to watch his figure. Water diet."_

_Mata's lips curled back in a sneer at the joke, her eyes flashing dangerously as the man stuttered into silence, the laughter leaving his lips slowly._

" _Funny." Her voice suggested anything but. "Tell the rest of the marine's that Portgas D. Ace will get full portions and water. The only one that has to look at his girlish figure is me."_

_The man forced a laugh, glancing around nervously. "Ah, come on, Mattie. Loosen up. We gotta make the pirate look his best for his big day."_

_Something angry and painful roared inside the ebony haired girl like a beast suddenly waking to scrape it's talons along her guts. The tip of her riffle was against the man's temple so quickly that her movements blurred together, leaving both of them in shock at the unexpected motion._

" _Listen well, lunch lady," she hissed, her words matching the arctic winds of Drum Island. Her empty hand held the barring riffle in place. "If you try to fuck with my prisoner again without my permission then the only thing that will be loose are your brains from your skull. Do you hear me?"_

_His adam's apple bobbed, sweat dribbling down his chin, splattering the floor. He didn't need to say anything. The look in his eyes was enough. Disgusted, Mata shoved him away with the butt of her riffle._

" _Bring back the proper amount of food and water," she snapped, her attention already back on dismantling the series of weapons in front of her._

_Behind the heavily barred door, Mata's ears picked up on the shuffle of shackles and muffled groans._

" _Finally growing a heart?" The ebony haired girl's lips curled downward, the heel of her palm slamming the magazine on a pistol into place with such force that her teeth jarred together._

" _I made Old Man Garp a promise," she whispered, not caring that her words might be lost. It was true. Before she had been shoved into this deep, dank hole with Ace, her old mentor had made her swear to him on her honor as a Marine._

" _To only let them mummify me a little?"_

" _Both of us," a deep voice that she recognized as her other prisoner, Jinbe griped. "Mummify both of us. I've had the fortune to be trapped with the most hated man in the prison."_

" _You're such a downer," Ace complained and Mata heard the sound of someone kicking another. "Shut up."_

_In side her cell, she heard the sound of scuffling and jangling chains. Mata's movements were swift as she loaded a revolver and shot a warning bullet at the wall, hitting a crack in the corner of one of the bricks. Blowing away some of the smoke, she reloaded it._

_The noise had stopped._

_Her tongue worked around words as she stared down at her weapons, her face pulled tight in disatisfaction. "To defend his insolent fool of a grandson. As he so elegantly put it."_

_There was a rasping snort that ended in hacking coughs. "Uh. Yeah. That sounds like him. That old, pruney, bastard."_

_Mata resisted the urge to snort, trying to hold back the reflexive reaction. Garp's grandson was funny. It was hard to dislike funny people who you saw get beat up on a daily basis. Kind of made them seem like dumb dogs with sadistic owners._

_Irritated, she slammed the magazine into another pistol, taking quick aim at a crack in the wall and firing. Silence roughened the air as Mata focused down at the task at hand._

" _Hey. Have I told you about my little brother?"_

" _Dear lord, not again," Jinbe whispered in obvious agony._

Portgas D. Ace and his big, stupid mouth. This was why Mata Hara felt like a she was about to throw up.

But there was only one answer in the Marines.

"Yes, sir." Rolling up the sleeves of her Navy coat, she slipped past Ace and took careful aim, adjusting the sights and unclipping a sniper magazine from a clip filled with them at her hip.

"Mata - Mata, you don't have to -" Ace's words fumbled off as emerald eyes met and held his. The problem with being in front of one of Garp's grandson was the fact that all they needed to do was look into a person's eyes. They could see everything if they caught you.

And what Ace saw was everything that Mata Hara had been pressing down inside of herself for the last few years. The doubt. The fear. And the mind numbing reality that at any moment she would shoot one of his friends. Maybe she would even shoot Luffy.

" _His face is kind of stupid. But in a really likable way. Ya know?"_

_Mata slammed her head back against the cement wall, squeezing her eyes shut. "Do you usually talk this much?"_

" _He does," Jinbe rumbled._

" _Why? Do you like it?" Inside the cell, she heard shackles jingling as Ace slipped forward, ignoring his companion. "You like it don't you? Marco told me I had a nice voice."_

" _I've heard better."_

" _Ouch," Jinbe murmured._

" _Aw, that was mean." Mata rolled her eyes, fiddling with the bullets at her waist. For a moment, everything was silent. "I miss him, ya know?"_

_The ebony haired girl blinked, glancing at the prison door from the corner of her eyes. "Marco?"_

" _My brother. Brothers. Both of them. Not Marco." It was a foreign sentiment to Mata. "They were stupid. And useless most of the time… But they were mine. I'm the only one that would protect them. Ya know?"_

_Mata stared at thin cracks spidering from one of her bullet holes. Her lips parts and then closed. She had been a Marine from birth. No one had ever taught her about family. And protecting other people seemed like rather a lot. A nuisance. Full lips curled down. A set back._

" _No. I don't."_

" _Ah," Ace sighed after a moment of silence. "That's sad, Navy Girl. You've never wanted to protect something?"_

_Mata's mind spun, her stomach tensing. Herself. On missions she had wanted to protect herself._

" _I - I -" She stopped, going silent._

_Ace was silent as well, even his shackles going quiet. "Luffy. That's his name - my brother. He's a crybaby. If he was here … Ah, that doesn't matter. Why are you making me talk about this, Navy Girl?"_

" _Mata." She said suddenly, not even thinking about it before it was out._

" _Huh?"_

" _My name's Mata."_

_There was a chuckle. "Nice to meet you Navy Girl Mata. Portgas D. Ace at your service and under your command."_

_Mata's lips curled wryly, her head turning so that her cheek pressed against the brick._

Mata tore her eyes from Ace's, turning back to the horror of Marineford. Oozy molten lava rained from the sky, Akainu's fist's extended to the sky as ice melted and heated to boiling water. Shrill screams pierced the air and the muscles of Mata's arms tensed as the canon's circling the wall went off. The pirates were trapped in a funnel of death, like sheep being herded to the sheers. _Ace's friends,_ Mata thought bitterly, wincing. _His silly, sloppy baby brother. His smooth, slow crew mate. His captain. The captain that had taken him in. Cared for him._

Mata hissed out a curse, slamming the sniper rifle into the wood of the deck and drawing the attention of Sengoku.

"Cramp," she muttered out, turning her eyes away. Mata wasn't an ordinary Marine. She wasn't way out in the field where she could tear off her Marine coat and start attacking her own people. Why was she even thinking about this? Angrily, she raised her sniper and slipped a finger along it's side whispering out a ragged, " _Track_."

The first pirate that came around the bend saw her, ducking back to hide. Mata smiled writing and fired, watching as her bullet flew threw the air and then swerve and the body of the pirate fell face first into a puddle of his own blood. She took down ten others in rapid succession.

It all happened with a great roar of rubble. Oars was alive, his eyes unfocused but his body moving like a puppet that had some of its strings cut. And a dark haired boy with red shorts and an oversized yellow shirt was flying over the wall and landing with a boom in front of the admirals. Mata's teeth sunk into her tongue as she lowered her rifle.

"Luffy…" Ace whispered out from behind her and she resisted the urge to turn around and see him. It wasn't a simple name. It was his fucking bible. It was a silent prayer for salvation and also protection.

They didn't look anything alike. A crudely stitched scar crescented Luffy's wide, innocent eyes where Ace's eyes were narrowed and critical. Ace's skin was dotted with freckles where Luffy's was completely unblemished. Ace was built like a leopard, Luffy a kitten. Curly, flopping hair versus spiked, unruly strands. They were completely different.

But their smiles were the same. The laugh lines were their around their mouths and eyes.

_Why were they executing them like this?_

"Warrant Officer Hara!" Mata's nose twitched, her head tipping toward the rumbled voice of Sengoku. "You are to protect this platform until Portgas D. Ace is executed. He is still under your charge. Are we clear?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Mata saw Old Man Garp twitch and Ace draw in a shaky breath.

Mata's lips thinned dangerously, the unsettling emerald depths of her eyes sparkling and glinting with obvious defiance. It was a long tense moment as the girl stared up at her admiral. Sengoku had trained her before. Maybe the more appropriate words would be that he had thrown her around for an hour or two once or twice a months, giving her helpful pointers while she was mid-air.

"Yes, sir," she finally whispered, her eyes catching on the green-clad executioners, the dull light of Marineford catching on the long blades of their weapons.

"A paddle boat, sir!" One of the marine's below near the canon's shouted. "It's coming at us at full speed!"

"What?!" Sengoku screamed. He had started out so cool and composed. Slowly and surely, that mask had been chipped away.

"Sink it like the Moby Dick!" Canon's went off - so many that the wood beneath Mata's feet shook with the blasts but the paddleboat kept going. Right toward Oars.

"No! Not the boat! Shoot at Oars!" Sengoku roared.

It was too late. With a roar, the giant grabbed hold of the boat, pulling it out of the water and right into the home territory of the Marine's.

"They got us," Old Man Garp murmured and Mata quickly threw her sniper over her shoulder and went to the far corner in front of Sengoku. "There was only a space the size of a rathole."

"They're accustomed to that way of thinking," Mata sneered, taking aim and shooting down as many pirates as she had bullets before she was snapping out the magazine and clipping in another.

"Don't be mean because you're conflicted, Mattie." Emerald eyes snapped to stare back at Ace. He gave her a wane smile. "Kinda hard to keep thinking of us like rodents, am I right?"

"Shut up," Mata snarled, taking aim again. "If you don't, I'll shoot you myself. And I never miss."

"I'm a foot away from you so it would be kind of sad if you did."

Explosions shook the platform and a boom loosened the pillars holding it upright. Cursing, Mata grappled with the wood as her feet slid toward the edge.

Oars was dead.

The yard fell eerily silent and behind her, she heard the ragged intake of breath. " _Oars…_ "

"WHITEBEARD HAS DESCENDED TO THE PLAZA!"

Mata's breath froze in her throat, the fingers grasping her sniper growing clammy. The legends didn't do him justice. He was bigger than life, with calculating tawny colored eyes and a chest marred with scars and bruises. He didn't look his age. His shoulders were too straight and his head held to high.

With one massive swing of his blade, all the marine's around him flew back, dust clouding Mata's vision and forcing ragged coughs to tear from her throat.

The only ones left standing were the admirals.

"Th-that's the man that you told me about?" Mata suddenly whispered, her eyes wide in an unusual expression of awed fear. "Your pops?"

"Yeah," Ace finally rasped out after a moment and Mata was ashamed to see tears pooling in his eyes. "That's my pops."

A bundle of blue fire was heading toward them at an alarming rate. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the revolvers at her thighs. She really didn't need to. With one leap and a sucker punch to the face, blue fire guy was plummeting back to earth and Old Man Garp was at his seat in the lines of admirals. Mata stared. He was choosing the Marines over Ace.

Something nasty and dark tore at her chest, clawing viciously at her heart. That wasn't right. This whole thing wasn't right.

Behind her, she heard the piercing whistle of the wind as the twin blades of the executioner cut through the air. Mata swallowed, a roar tearing through the air.

Why did she feel so sick and weak? She turned, her muscles thumping under her skin as if she was working through honey. He wasn't bad. Why did he have to have such a big mouth?

"DON'T DO IT!"

Mata's head throbbed, her eyes rolling as her legs gave way.

She was falling.


	2. The Battle Ends

The world was falling apart. That was the first coherent thought that Mata thought, her skin prickling uncomfortably as sweat trickles down her throat and stomach. Falling apart and burning.

Something in her shoulder burst painfully forcing a scream from her throat as she rolled, rocks catching and tearing at her capris and coat. And then the pain was so unbearable that she shrieked even louder as her back collided with a pillar, her spine exploding in agony.

Mata Hara thought that she was dying.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Execute Straw Hat and Fire Fist!"

Mata groaned, blinking away the grit that had formed on her lashes and struggling to her knees. Not only had she passed out but the platform had been completely destroyed, timber still booming to the ground around her. Waves of heat burst over here as mini fire explosions went off, sending Marines flying.

Mata Hara's prisoner was free and he was making a mess.

"Fucking dammit," she hissed, leaning against a boulder as she unclipped the revolvers tucked into the back of her belt. Clutching her ribs and ignoring the pain spiking through her right arm, she limped forward, shoving Marines out of the way as she went.

The yard was a mess. The dead had been kicked aside to make small heaps here and there, their corpse already rotting and gather flies. Inside the wall, something tore through the cement, making the ground rock until it was hard for Mata to stand properly without pain.

Ace and his brother were yards away, making their way toward the hole in the wall. Briefly, the ebony haired eyes flicked to the paddleboat that was tearing through the yard, making it's way through the cement at a painfully slow pace. She felt an awkward connect to that pace as she limped after her prisoner, cussing openly and fouly.

Every step drew her closer and closer to the haul of the paddleboat, Ace and Luffy slipping around the side just a yard or so in front of her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a giant alabaster beast that looked similar to a dog tearing through a group of Marines, a giant white mustache curling thickly from his upper lip.

"Shit!" Mata cussed as she shot a howling pirate in the leg and then the temple, unclipping the cylinder of her revolver so that bullets cascaded to the ground and then reloading quickly. It was a slow, painful pace and she huffed and swore the whole way. "STOP FIGHTING ME!"

"WHITEBEARD STOPPED THE SHIP WITH ONE HAND!"

The girl suddenly realized that the ship had halted and that she was only a few feet away from the front where the giant of a man had a hand pressed to the wood, his shoulders moving in deep breaths as he tried to catch himself. It looked like every gasp of air was more painful than the last, blood dripping through the white of his beard and splattering from his chin and to his chest.

Immediately, her revolvers were raised, her chin setting as she aimed for his head. The last time that Mata Hara had missed a shot, she was ten and she had cried so much after the talking to that Matron Ellen had given her that her eyes had nearly been swollen shut.

Her fingers tightened on the trigger.

"Can't you understand how ungrateful it is for a child to die before his parent, Squard?!" Mata's fingers stilled, her eyes lighting with curiosity as the pirates that had gathered behind the ship cried out. "Don't get too confident! That little stab wound that you created doesn't jeopardize my life!"

Mata's face didn't twitch from it's impassive mask but her skin went two shades lighter.

_Mata Hara was twelve and molten lava oozed from Akainu's fists, his expression bored as he stared across the training area at the wheezing, burned little girl. A small dagger was clutched desperately in her hands, the skin there already bubbling up with blisters._

" _Is that all you have, little orphan?" Akainu asked although his voice was laced with disinterest. "You're boring me, little lost girl. At this rate, we'll have to toss you out to the streets."_

_The thought scared her more than another chance of getting burned._

_With a scream, she jolted forward, her barefeet tapping against the cement floor as she lashed out, making a mad stab at trying to slash the much larger man._

" _Don't get too confident," Akainu drawled, easily swatting her away and to the wall. "You're so far from beating me that it's laughable, girl."_

_And then there was the cold click of his boots as he left._

Sweat dribbled down her spine, the revolver in her hands shaking as she blinked up at the taller pirate. Everything he was saying was backwards. If Mata Hara had ever dared to even raise a brow to her admirals they would have whipped her in the yard and thrown her into solitary. When she lost or missed a shot, they laughed and degraded her. How could pirate's be so different? They were supposed to be rats.

"Now is our chance! Kill Whitebeard! He's dying already!"

Tawny eyes met hers. Why was that her undoing?

Without thinking, her revolvers had moved, focusing down on the men circling Whitebeard. Eighteen marines barely hit the ground before she was tossing the guns aside, unsheathing her daggers from the carriers at her calves and spinning to slash the men beside her, driving the blades into their throats as they fell with screams. Blood splattered across her face, dampening her bandages.

Mata Hara had effectively two minutes to fall back to protect the lines of pirates retreating before the Marines around her got over their shock and started fighting back. The bitter taste of betrayal usually made people a lot more spunky in a fight.

"Who's that?" A murmur went through the pirates as the ebony haired girl tore through the men and women around her, creating a safe circle around her as she flung a dagger into a man that was approaching and unclipped a pistol from her shoulder holsters.

"Warrant Officer Mata Hara!" A stray officer that Mata had been on duty with a couple of times screamed as she shot an approaching women in the leg and then flung her last dagger into another man's chest.

"What are you doing?" The ebony haired girl glanced up at the deep voice, spinning back as a blade came dangerously close to slashing through her stomach. Whitebeard had turned his full attention on her, the laugh lines taloning around his eyes crinkling a bit in divergence to his otherwise stern expression.

"I was assigned to protect Portgas D. Ace," Mata said simply, flipping over onto her hands as a bullet went whizzing by and then back even more until she was panting beside the much bigger man. She was starting to feel the damage that she had sustained from her fall and the gashes that she was getting from fighting.

"You were assigned to keep him a prisoner of the Navy," Whitebeard said evenly, his eyes flashing as they traveled over the Marines in front of him who froze.

Mata shrugged, covering the way that the words tore at her. "I changed my mind."

Her words were met with a rumbling laugh that seemed to shake the area around her. "You understand the consequences?"

"I don't like to think about unnecessary things," Mata snapped, quickly emptying her pistols and then throwing them aside angrily. She was running out of weapons. If she got back her revolvers than she could load them - She hissed, driving her knee into the soft belly of a Petty Officer and grabbing his pistols from his hips. The reason that she had thrown aside her revolvers was _because_ of the time it would take for her to load them. She would be dead ten times over.

Pain sliced through her side and she rolled, kicking up and catching the girl with a boot to the chin. Blood dribbled down her side, the wound throbbing painfully. Shadows fell over Mata, giving a little warning before the butt of a sword slammed into her chin, snapping her head to the side.

"Traitor," someone spat from above her, nails digging into her neck as someone hauled her to her feet.

Her vision was a bit blurry but she was able to catch the blue glint of slicked back hair. She forced her lips to curl in a smug smirk right before someone punched her in the face and the world snapped. Noises dulled, popping as she spat out some blood. So this was how she was going to die. Man, that was sad. She at least wanted to go out fighting someone other than a Chore Boy and his groupies.

Mata brought her knee up, driving it into his groin and causing him to release her.

"DAMMIT!" The Chore Boy screamed. "GET HER UP!"

That was when the fire came, tearing a line across the cement. It was obnoxiously hot, sweat rolling from her overexerted muscles as she rolled, huffing.

"I'm never getting involved with these assholes ever again," she snarled, wincing. And then freezing as she saw familiar black boots and shorts. "Aw, _fuck_."

"You do have a heart!" Ace cheered, giving her a wide, cheeky smile. "I knew you had it in you, Mattie."

"Don't call me that and don't touch me," she snapped, slapping away his hand with a glare as she struggled to her feet and then abruptly sunk back to her knees.

"Do you need help? You look like you need-"

"I'm resting," Mata said blandly.

Ace's brows tipped up and he glanced back at his brother as Luffy came forward, his eyes curious. "Ooookkkkkaaaayyyy~ Oh, hey. This is my brother. You remember my brother right? You know, the-"

"I've heard a disturbing amount about you," Mata cut him off, staring at the smaller boy in mild interest as he gave her a wide grin. "You look a lot less stupid than your brother described you."

"That's so nice of you to say! You're a friend of my brother?" He grinned offering out his hand which the girl took lamely. "Nice to meet you!"

It was like I was in front of the sunshine brothers, each of them grinning at me like we weren't in the middle of a battle and I wasn't a Marine who was ordered to kill both of them.

"We'll become great friends, I can just tell," Luffy gushed and Mata resisted the urge to wince. She hoped that that was the farthest thing from the truth that she could get.

"Hey - quick note. Don't hit me." The ebony haired girl blinked, opening her mouth to question him but only yelped instead as Ace hauled her up and over his shoulder. "TIME TO GO!"

Up ahead, she saw a docked Naval ship filled to the brim with pirates and groaned. The pirates that were running beside them eyed the ebony haired girl warily but didn't comment. A blue fish-like man that she recognized as one of the warlords and a former prisoner caught her eyes, giving her a quick once over and then a stiff nod. She hadn't been on duty when she had escaped. But she had certainly gotten an earful because of it.

"As soon as you rescue 'Fire Fist' Ace, you run! The Whitebeards must be a group of cowards!" Akainu's voice was loud and obnoxious but it brought the whole procession, particularly Ace to a halt. Mata's lips thinned, her breath catching. "Well, your captain is that guy so you can't help it, can you?"

Around him, she saw some of the Marine's snicker. Beneath her fingers, she could feel Ace shaking, his teeth gritting as he turned to fully stare at Akainu.

"He's doing this on purpose," she whispered, trying to draw his attention to her.

Akainu clicked his tongue. "And you, Mata Hara. I always knew you were useless but I didn't think you were a traitor. What kind of parents must you have to make you such a cowardly waste of space?"

Mata blinked, her cheeks redden as the words cut into her like little daggers.

"At least the Whitebeard cowards have an excuse," Akainu drawled and Mata lowered her gaze. "Afterall, Whitebeards just a loser from the old times."

His smile was sadistic and mean. How could she have ever followed this man's orders?

"Hold her." Ace didn't even wait for a reply before she was thrust into Jinbe's arms.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled, looking torn.

"You don't want to do this! He's playing you!" Mata yelled uselessly, gritting her teeth as she struggled to wiggle from the warlord's arms.

"You're opening your wounds more," Jinbe said, staring down at her sternly as blood oozed from the gashes in her legs and the larger one running along her side.

"A loser?" Ace questioned, his anger flaring up as his arms steamed and then burst into flames. "Take back what you just said!"

"You _idiot_!" Mata snarled, fighting rabidly to get free. No one seemed to hear her.

"Hey, don't, Ace! Don't stop!" One man yelled.

"Just let him say whatever he wants!"

Ace brushed away the pirates restraining hand on his arm. "He mocked Pops! Take back what you said!"

"Ace!" Luffy screamed, struggling against some pirates that had reached forward to restrain him.

"Did you say 'take it back?'" Akainu goaded. "Not in a million years… I'll tell you why, too… Your father Gold Roger conquered the Grand Line and opened the gate to the new era called the Great Pirate Era by sacrificing himself. As a Navy Admiral, it's not my place to say-"

"Then don't!" Mata snarled but Akainu continued on with only a disgusted stare in her direction.

"But he was true to his name the King of Pirates. In contrast, what has Whitebeard done? I wonder if he really had the intention to fight. I assumed that he establish a large family and was satisfied with being a large fish in a small pond. There are some fools who would say that his name is keeping peace in various islands, but if you ask me, he's just keeping lightweights in fear of him and he thinks that he's a hero, which makes me laugh! When Rogers was alive, he had second billing and even after Roger's dead, he couldn't become a king. That means he'll never surpass Roger, and he'll be a loser forever. That's who Whitebeard is and that's the truth. He's a poor man when you think about it. He's gathered some punks who call him 'Pops' and roamed around the sea with his fake family."

"Stop it." Ace was on fire, completely and totally, his strides slow as he made his way closer to Akainu.

"And although he reigned the sea for years, he couldn't become a king and gained nothing and at the end he was stabbed by a fool, one of his sons who fell for my lines and he will die to protect that son." He actually laughed, his head tipping to the side as he gave Ace a sardonic smile. "Don't you think his life is so empty?"

"Stop it!" Ace snarled and the flames leaped around him.

"Don't do it, Ace!" a man with a pistol in his hand screamed from my right. "Come back!"

"Pops gave us a place to live! You can't understand his greatness!" Pain tightened Mata's heart. She did. She understood.

"People don't deserve to live if they don't live justly. Punks like you don't deserve a place to live."

"Stop it!"

"Whitebeard will die a loser! It's fitting for a big fish in a little barrel." She didn't understand Akainu or this twisted place. But she understood Ace.

"DAMMIT!" Punching Jinbe in the stomach, she was able to wiggle away and snatch the pistol from the man, firing a shot that sizzled and melted into Akainu's shoulder. Ace's eyes snapped to her as she fired another shot that sizzled into his skull, stepping forward swiftly until she was standing beside the dark haired man. "I promised-"

She stopped, licking away the blood that had begun to crust her lips shut. The woman standing beside Ace looked disheveled and like she was barely able to stand, sweat slickening her clammy skin and making her black hair stick to her neck in clumps. Her jaw was bruised, cuts lining her face and traveling along her whole body. Her back was swollen and bruising starting to shade her spine, large and pulsing. A gash gaped between two of her ribs, the wound already crusted in a thin layer of dirt and blood still pouring to soak all the way into her capris which were a tattered mess.

"I promised your grandfather," she panted, the hand holding the pistol dipping and shaking as she tried to stay focused on the figure in front of her. "I will not let you die here."

"Slimy, traitorous brat," Akainu spat, utter disgust coloring his face as he studied at the unfocused eyes of the girl. "We should have thrown you out from the beginning. Maybe then you would have died in the streets and saved us all some trouble."

"Fuck you," she said shakily, her vision going a little fuzzy. At her ribs, the blood had slowed to a steady trickle.

"What are you going to do, little orphan girl? Throw that pistol at me?" Mata's eyes narrowed. The pistol didn't have anymore bullets in it.

"Sure." She hurled it, the thing spinning through the air and then promptly melting into goop at his feet. She stared at it in disappointment. "Damn. Really hoped that was going to work."

Molten lava oozed all around him, bubbling the tile into mush as it seeped closer to them.

"This isn't your fight, Mattie," Ace whispered, his flames crackling around his fists as he crouched.

"It became my fight when you decided to be an asshole," she hissed back although it was more like a gargled whisper, her knees wobbling. "This is about more than you, Portgas Ace. Your death affects… _Shit_."

Her legs finally gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Damn. Damn. Why couldn't she have been stronger?

"MARCO, GET HER OUT OF HERE!"

The world burst into flames again as a hand wrapped around my waist and she was dragged back to the line of pirates so quickly that she rolled as Luffy's arm uncurled from around her.

"You stay." A guy with a mess of blond hair sprouting from the top of his head commanded, his words and face tight as he clutched at the wounds in his chest.

There was a scream and then an explosion but Mata couldn't see anything from her spot. She wanted to scream, her teeth gritting down as she tried to roll and get up but only succeeding in falling back to the cement. Her head felt light, the pain that she had been feeling only moments before lightening. Smoke, gray and unyielding filled her vision.

Someone was screaming. Why was it so loud?

"GET ME THE KEY!"

Mata's eyes wandered to the man with the blonde hair, his face blurry and the colors that had seemed so bright moments before looking washed out. He was chained with seastone shackles. Mindlessly, her fingers fumbled with her pocket.

"I have it," she coughed out, the words flaring pain back into her for a moment. "I have the key."

His eyes widened, the pupils dilating as his hand reached out, curling around hers and taking the key.

Someone was screaming. Mata coughed, choking on the blood that bubbled up the back of her throat.

The last thing she saw was smoke.


	3. The People Left

They called it the War of the Best. Shockwaves tore the world as Mata had known it apart. Pirates raided Whitebeard's territory and pillaged every village that wasn't properly defended. There were no limits. Respect and honor were no longer in the vocabulary. The lines that had always seemed too murky to Mata between Marine and pirate became even murkier. On the outside, the boundaries may have seemed clear but for Mata Hara, the girl who had once been a Warrant Officer and one of the best sharpshooters and trackers in the Navy, everything was getting confusing.

On the ship of one Trafalgar D. Water Law, there was considerable debate about what to do about the unconscious Marine currently hooked up to a breathing machine. Although under stable condition, a crescent scar would remain across her ribs, another along her thigh. Her clothes had been all but destroyed so the crew had had to make due with a Heart Pirates jumper.

They had thrown the Marine jacket into the sea.

"She's a Marine," Law said blandly, his eyes flicking dully to the closed door, his ears pricking as he caught the steady beep of the machine. Two of his crew stood guard just on the other side, probably playing cards just in front of the door.

A dull pinging bounced off the yellow walls, the circular windows lining the walls showing the darkness of the sea outside. After docking in the bay of Amazon Lily, the mechanics of the Heart Pirates had taken the chance to check all of the ship for any damage or threats of leaking.

Across the round, dandelion yellow table, Jinbe's eyes narrowed, his already stern expression going even more rocky. The big man took up almost the whole other side of the table. If it weren't for the bandages tightening his clothes and the way that his shoulders were straightened in a way that suggested refusal to be defeated by pain, Law would be a little more wary. Law tipped his head to the side, taking a slow look around the spacious hall that served as a dining area.

Circular tables all the same dandelion yellow color were placed sporadically across the room, perfectly matching the yellow walls. Nestled snuggly in the left corner was a small kitchen area with an island that created clear separation. There was a uniformed organization about the Heart Pirates that transferred from their similar jumpsuits to the tidy way that the ship was made up.

There was something about Trafalgar D. Water Law that attracted this kind of environment.

"Are you really suggesting that we tow around a Marine traitor?" Law drawled, placing a careful, lean finger on the edge of his cup and following the rim slowly. SIghing, he leaned back in his seat, turning his gaze to the ceiling. "We're not a charity, Jinbe."

"You've saved her life-"

"At your insistence~" Law sang.

"Because she saved Luffy's life and tried to save Ace-"

"Last time I checked _tried_ and _did_ are two very different things." His head tipped to the side as he gave Jinbe a cool once over. "And I was under the impression that _you_ had saved the miracle child's life." His lips cracked in a cynical smile. "Well… You and _me_."

Jinbe's eyes flashed, his head tilted slightly as he gave the smaller man a look of disdain. "Without Marco we would have never made it out alive. Marco could not have helped without being released from the seastone chains. The Marine girl gave him that freedom."

"I like the way that you broke that down for me," Law said with a smirk. "I just find it interesting that you would want to put your trust into someone that was assigned to make sure that Ace died." He scoffed. "And she couldn't even do that. It sounds to me that not only is she an untrustworthy traitor but that she has also useless. Do you even know her name?"

"Mata Hara." Both men blinked, surprise flashing through both of their eyes as they turned at the soft voice.

Leaning heavily against the frame of the door was a pale, painting Mata, her eyes heavily shadowed but cutting even though she was obviously feeling all of her years at the moment. Bandages crisscrossed along her chest, the material so thick that when she had woken up she had had a moment of utter fear. It was the kind of fear that children got after a long bout of illness, finally waking up from a fever, sweaty and still in the shadow of hallucinations. She had thought that she was back with the Navy, held in the infirmary until Sengoku - or worse, Anaiku - would come for her. And then she would be shoved into the same cell that Ace had been in. That would be perfectly cruel. _Adequately_ cruel enough for what she had done.

"Sorry, boss." One of the Heart Pirates said, his eyes shadowed by the low brim of his furry hat. Both of the men who were still trying to silently tug the ebony haired woman back to her bed with no luck, stared down at the woman.

"We didn't think that you'd be wanting us to toss her back into bed-" The other man jumped in, his voice a bit higher and squeaky.

"With all the bandages-"

"Bleeding-"

"Female." The other one finished, nodding like it was an appropriate final explanation.

Law stared at them, his eyes shadowed by his hat and his face bordering on indifference distain. Mata swallowed around the cottony taste that was filling her mouth, blinking around. Marine boats were usually very orderly. They had little color and even fewer signs of personality. Law's walls were decorated with their jolly roger printed on the walls, a grinning jackal with protrusions spearing out in six directions.

"My name." Mata blinked, swatting away the fingers grasping at the back of the unzipped jumper and limping forward. Heavily and with a great deal of noise, she sat down and then cursed, angrily yanking her arms from the sleeves and tying them around her hips. Sweat had slickened her skin, dying her bandages a sickly gray which perfectly blended into the color of her skin. Her lips had gone an off-white, her upper lip dampened with beads of sweat and her eyes narrowed and wincing from barely concealed pain. Taking a shaky breath, she looked back at the men in front of her. "My name is Mata Hara."

"One mystery solved," Law drawled out, clearly unimpressed with the admission. HIs eyes flicked to the men still in the doorway and he sighed. "Aito, Goro - go... clean something."

Both men looked absolutely deflated and before they left they shot Mata individual looks of disdain. She ignored them.

"I heard you talking," Mata said without any more preamble. She had never been particularly good at skirting around subjects. "So I came out to clear the air."

"Oh. Well," Law said with a smirk. "By all means, clear it."

Mata let out a slow breath, quilling her urge to send the man a look of absolute loathing.

"When did you join the Navy?" Jinbe jumped in, trying to smooth out into a more tame topic.

"I was born into it," Mata deadpanned and then elaborated as she caught the cautiously confused expressions on both of their faces. "I never joined. When I was a baby, my parents abandoned me in a dumpster near the Marine headquarters in one of the smaller islands. They didn't have a church or orphanage that I could be taken to so the Navy there took me in. I was trained there. And then a larger island. And then the academy. And finally I was taken to Impel Down and then Marineford."

Both men were silent for a moment and Mata took the break to readjust, wincing at the burning in her ribs. Mata didn't know the ways of normalcy. The Marine walls were tall and caging. For many years she hadn't even known that families consisted of two parents and a child. There wasn't any regret - not even really a level of sadness. Why would a fish miss the taste of air?

"How old are you?"

"19," she answered immediately. Her brows furrowed. "I think."

Law's brows tipped up and Mata shrugged. There were a lot of reasons why she didn't know how old she was. She had been out at sea on missions for around two years and although the Marine's didn't make it a habit of throwing birthday parties, they did perform routine checkups every year. There was also the fact that Mata had never exactly been told at what age she had been dropped off to the Navy.

"You have a Devil Fruit don't you?" Jinbe said suddenly and Mata eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"A Paramecia type," Mata said, staring down at a crack in the table. "Old Man Garp told me that it was called a Fuwa Fuwa something or other."

"Care to explain?" Law drawled.

Without another word, Mata leaned across the table to tap his cup lightly and dip a pinkie into the steaming liquid. Law's lips tipped down.

" _Fuwa_ ," she whispered and the cup floated into the air, hanging there as if by a thread before spinning off and dropping it's content onto the floor.

"You're going to have to clean that up," Law said as the cup sat daintily on the table before him once more. Mata shrugged, crooking a finger at the dark liquid so that it arched across the room and splashed back into the cup.

Mata gave him a sweet smile. "Enjoy."

Jinbe snorted and Law's lips curled up into a restrained smile.

"Levitation," Mata clarified, reaching forward to tap Law's hat and then with a flick of a finger it was up in the air, leaving him to snarl across the table at him. She smiled, holding up a finger. "One touch. A single touch and I can levitate anything I want as long as it's non-living."

"So you can't levitate yourself?" Jinbe inquired as Law snatched uselessly at his hat, the item floating just out of his reach every time.

"The only exception," Mata said. "But I still haven't mastered that. It's hard for me to concentrate on something so heavy. Old Man Garp told me that there was another - a leopard or tiger… Maybe lion - He used to be able to pull whole islands apart."

"Let's stop with the pleasantries," Law cut in, finally getting ahold of his hat and Jinbe winced. "You were assigned to kill Ace-"

"Guard," Mata corrected without thinking. Her face remained indifferent as Law gave her a critical look. "I was assigned to guard him."

"That's a rather romanticized view," the dark haired man said. "You were assigned to keep the people that would rescue him - that would save his life - away from his cell. Guarding him implies that you would have stopped the daily beatings. Did you?"

Mata's lips thinned, her eyes lowering. She had. Once. Sengoku had told her that she would be taken away from him and reassigned if she protested again. She couldn't risk him getting another guard. The next would not defend him. From then on, they had taken him when she had been relieved for a few hour of sleep.

"I thought so," Law said. "Tell me why I shouldn't throw you from this boat this moment or hand you over to the snake hags on this island."

Mata's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You're overstepping yourself, Law," Jinbe suddenly interrupted, his voice trembling with anger. "Before I escaped, I also shared a cell with Ace. This girl guarded him. She made sure that both of us were fed and when the guards beat us, she treated our wounds. As I recall, you didn't even _know_ Ace. _She_ did."

Mata blinked, unfamiliar emotions clogging her throat. Staring up at the man, she gave a stiff nod, blinking rapidly. Taking a settling breath, she turned back to Law who looked like he had walked into a room that he didn't particularly want to be in.

"I made a promise." Law's ears pricked up at the words and his something in his mind clicked. Mata's eyes had transformed to green pools of fire, their intensity making him forget for a moment that the wounds she had sustained would have kept most people in bed for months. Her fingers curled into fists on the table. "I promised that I would protect Ace with my life to his grandfather. I can no longer go back to the Marine's. But I can keep that promise. That is all I have now."

She had broken her ties to the Marines right when she had turned a weapon on her comrades. She had nowhere else to go. Everything that Mata Hara had worked for had been wiped out with one turn and the only way to build herself up was to own her decisions because the truth was that she herself didn't completely understand why she had chosen the pirates. She shouldn't have. Maybe it was the way that Ace had smiled at her, grinning like he was seeing her for the first time every time she came in to treat his bruises.

Mata Hara blinked, forcing herself away from her own thoughts finally taken in the suddenly tense room. Law wasn't looking at her anymore. His eyes had turned to the table and Jinbe looked like he was holding back a painful outburst, his lips screwed shut.

"What?" No one said anything. "What is it?"

Finally Law looked up, his arms crossing over his chest and his face cautiously blank. "Ace. He's dead."

"You're lying." Anger roared through Mata's veins, her words tight as she glared across the table. "Someone like Ace wouldn't die. Not in Marineford. Not like that."

Even Law was taken aback by the outburst.

It came from deep inside Mata. No one had told her it. No one had forced it into her head. But there was a wrongness about it all.

"Do you want to go see his grave?" It was a harsh thing to say and Jinbe gave a low growl in warning.

"Why are you being such a lying dick?" Mata snarled, the chair skidding back and falling as she slammed a hand on the table. "Where's Ace?" Wildly, she looked around and then pointed at a door on the other side of the room. "Is he in there? Is that where he's hiding? ACE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD, GET OUT HERE! I DON'T HAVE TIME-"

"Mata." She stilled, staring down at the hand that had squeezed around her forearm. Unwillingly, her eyes met, Jinbe's, deep, fresh pain bursting through her chest. "He's dead."

"You're-" The words caught in her throat and then it was like everything was falling apart again, her head dropping. It shouldn't have meant anything. Maybe it meant something because she was selfish. She was thinking about herself. Ace had been her lifeline. He had been her reason for continuing. Her hands shook. "Why did you have to tell me that, Jinbe?"

Mata didn't know that she was crying until she saw them splatter on the floor at her feet. _Stupid, obnoxious Ace._

Her wail echoed down the hall, the sound of chair and tables levitating to knock against the ceiling and then slamming to the floor, shaking the submarine.

_Three Days Later_

Law didn't question her anymore. In fact, he barely ever spoke to her. There was a resigned indifference there. Jinbe was her only real companion, his words always soft when he talked to the smaller woman.

"What will you do when your wounds are healed?"

Mata looked away from the sea, glancing back at the fishman as the wind tore from the sea and whipped her hair back from her face. In the past month, she had lost a significant amount of weight. In the past few days, Jinbe had taken it upon himself to gently nudge different foods into her hands and eventually into her mouth. At the moment, the warlord picked up a bowl of miso soup and nudged it into her hands. Mata looked down at it, her expression blank as she caught the warm scent of seaweed. Disdainfully, at his hopeful stare, she took a sip. And then another at his encouraging nod. And another until it was all gone and she set the cup down on the rocks that protruded from the ground.

Law and Jinbe had found themselves a place just on the edge of the bay, the edge jutting off and down to the sea. Down below the dandelion yellow top of the submarine bobbed, it's jolly roger dancing in the wind. The women of Amazon Lily had set up a little barrier between the pirates and the jungle beyond, a series of interlocking flags with nine snakes coiling out from a skull with no jaw. The jungle beyond was foreboding and untamed, occasional howls of unknown beasts breaking the air.

A day before the Kuja women had offered Mata the option to come into the island. Since she was a female, she had the option. For some reason she had said no. She wanted to see Luffy wake up. She didn't know what that would change but she wanted to see him again.

"I don't know," Mata admitted, sighing as Jinbe shoved a bowl of steaming meat and rice in front of her. "Maybe I'll turn myself into the Navy."

The wind whistled along the rocks as she turned back to the sea and Law glanced up from his bowl to stare at the girl. Honestly, she befuddled him and that was something that he had rarely had to experience. It was irritating.

"He's awake," Mata suddenly whispered, standing and then flinched back before there was a boom that shook the submarine and muffled screaming.

"What the hell-?" Law's words were cut off as the roof of the sub exploded, chunks of metal falling harshly into the sea and a black blur exploding from the top and then crashing to the ground just behind them.

"Luffy," Mata breathed, staring in horror at the boy as he collided with the ground, dirt coating his bandages. His breathing was ragged, his eyes unfocused like a rabid dog that had gone out of control long ago.

"Ace…" The whisper was soft and a chill went up Mata's spine and involuntarily she took a step back. "Ace… WHERE'S ACE?!"

It was a cry of such agony that Mata's breath froze in her chest, an icy claw digging into her heart until every pump was painful.

"What - what should we do?" Mata whispered shakily, staring helplessly across the bay as Luffy gave an enraged scream, launching himself across the area yelling for Ace.

"What's going to happen if we leave him like that?" Jinbe questioned and Law was finally able to drag his eyes away from the boy as his crew went chasing after him. They were getting knocked out of the way like bowling pins.

"Well, it's simple," Law started, glancing back at the boy. "Like I said when we got here, if his wounds open up, he will die."

Mata gulped, her hands clenching as Luffy gave another scream, falling into the dirt as his feet tripped clumsily over a rock.

"WHERE'S ACE?!" Luffy shrieked, his eyes rolling until Mata could only see the whites. "ACE!"

"He's gone into the forest," Mata hissed, watching in horror as the dark haired boy bolted into the jungle, the branches and brush quickly eating him up. The ebony haired girl glanced down at Jinbe. "The legends about turning to stone-"

"I'm a fish. You're a woman," he said, already walking toward the tree's edge. Mata followed swiftly after him, Law's eyes intent as he watched them disappear. Silently, he took another gulp of his drink.

It was easy to find him. He left a wake of destruction behind him so great that all Jinbe and Mata had to do was follow the path of the broken trees. Soon, the dirt was dotted with blood and then -

"Luffy," Mata breathed, staring at the lone figure in the middle of toppled trees and dust. His bandages were spackled with blood, his head pressed to the dirt.

Eyes half driven mad lasered into hers. How could they say it? What were the right words to say? Jinbe stepped forward.

"The war is over," he whispered. "Ace is-"

"Don't say it! Don't say anything!" Luffy screamed, lashing out. "I already pinched myself hard enough to rip my skin! If it were a dream, I would have woken by now." His lips shook, tears suddenly building and breaking to roll down his face. His words broke. "It's not a dream, is it? Ace, is really dead, isn't he?"

He was staring at both of them. Mata looked away, her throat tight and her eyes burning.

"Yes, he is dead," Jinbe said and Mata squeezed her eyes shut.

They watched him break. He destroyed boulder after boulder, tearing them apart with his head like he wanted to beat every living memory of Ace that he had ever had right out of his skull.

"Luffy!" Jinbe finally broke in.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed, not turning as he beat the ground with his fists. "Leave me alone. Both of you."

"I can't," Jinbe growled. "I can't just watch you hurt yourself anymore."

"You're going to rip open your wounds," Mata whispered helplessly.

"It's my own body!" Luffy roared. "It's none of your business."

"Then you can't blame Ace for what he did." Mata froze. "His death was none of your business."

Luffy's aura pulsed, boiling over with anger. "Shut up, you bastard! I'm gonna beat you if you say another word!"

Mata's lips thinned. She may not have liked the turn that this had taken but she trusted Jinbe. Her eyes met his out of the corner and she gave a short, stiff nod, moving to stand a step or two away.

"Do it if it makes you happy!" he bellowed. "I'm injured too but I'm not going to get beaten by you in that condition!"

Jinbe didn't have to say anymore. Luffy launched himself at the warlord with such rage that Mata was surprised that he could even control his powers. Jinbe easily caught the punch, his arms rippling as he tossed Luffy to the floor and then sat heavily beside him. Mata saw the boy's aura burst suddenly just before he leapt forward, chomping down onto Jinbe's arm as he roared. Mata winced as he slammed the boy back against one of the nearby boulders.

"Can't you see it clearly now?" he demanded, veins in his hand bulging as his fingers flexed around Luffy's neck. "You believed you could do anything! And you've never doubted your strength! But all those formidable enemies took away your confidence. And your brother was your guide to the sea. In know that you've lost a lot. And the toughest enemies in the world blocked your way time after time. You'll never find your way like this. Because you've lost yourself in regret and guilt. I know it's painful, Luffy but you have to bottle up these feelings! Don't just think about the ones you've lost. You can't get back what you've lost! What is it that you still have?"

Something in Luffy's whole body changed. His eyes focused and he let go. It was the Luffy that had come to save his brother. The one who I had first met.

"He knows now," Mata murmured, stepping around Jinbe to gently push him away and allow Luffy to slide down the rock. Her fingers worked to rub away the dirt at his cheeks. "You understand?"

He wasn't looking at her, instead his eyes were on his fingers, one going down after another. He was counting. It was at eight when he stopped. Suddenly, Mata knew. She knew exactly how she would keep her promise. Silently, she reached forward and gently forced down another finger.

"If you'll have me-" She stopped, the words suddenly unsteady. The burning in the back of her throat intensified until it was almost unbearable. Luffy's eyes searched her face and she finally forced her eyes to meet his. Her lips trembled, his face blurring in front of her. "I - I told your grandfather - I'm so sor- I wasn't able to protect Ace but - but I can protect _you_. I can try to. If you'll have me-"

He let out a wail, his arms dragging her tightly into his as he sobbed. And then they were both blubbering out incoherent sobs, their arms curled around each other like they were the only solid in an unsteady sea.

* * *

The old man came at the end of the first day of that very day. Silvers Rayleigh, first mate of the Rogers Pirates and the Dark Lord of the sea. It was only a matter of days before Luffy had agreed to his suggestion and when asked Mata had told her new captian that she would go wherever he did.

So that was how she found herself back at Marineford, staring down the barrel of a revolver at the ten Marine's that had circled her.

"Give me a reason, pumpkin," she said, her eyes lasering down on the men in front of her as one of them twitched.

"You should be hung," one of them sneered and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Mata Hara wasn't the kind of woman to dwell on her decisions. Once made, they were of little use to her. There was nothing more to do about her betrayal than own it.

And she had.

Tattooed crudely across both forearms was the word 'traitor.' Darkening both of her shoulders was grinning skulls, the twin barrels of a two revolvers cradled lovingly in it's jaw. In place of the darkened sockets, the empty holes glowed green and piercing. Mata had wanted to get Luffy's roger but he had refused her.

For her, the tattoos were a reminder. There was no going back from this.

In the distance, the bell tolled for the sixteenth time and she heard the quiet slap of Luffy's sandals.

"Are you okay, Mata?" he called as he past.

"I feel like I'm at a tea party, captain," she called back, sending the men around her a wink and a grin.

Standing just to the side, a journalist took a flurry of pictures, murmuring hurriedly into a recorder. For from being widespread, her story had been tamped down to a few newspapers thanks to the Navy's rapid efforts to do some damage control.

"Ma'am - miss - are you the Marine traitor?" the woman inquired, pushing her black rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. Mata's eyes moved slowly to take in the small woman, the emerald depths flaring. "Why-why did you do it? What was the reason?"

"MATA!" Luffy called, running toward the edge of the wall and Jinbe and Rayleigh.

"Yes," Mata said , flipping her guns so that she was holding tightly to the barrels. "As for the rest, you'll just have to make your best guess."

With one great burst of speed, she spun, ducking under a few men and slamming the butt of her revolvers into the back of a couple of knees until she was nearly free and then her guns were moving on their own. They spun from her grasp and hit at anything they had until she was free and with a whistle, they flew back to her.

Mata threw a cheeky smile over her shoulders as she sprinted to the others.

"Will they understand?" she panted, finally reaching them. He gave her the biggest grin that she had seen in awhile. He gave her a swift nod and then they were both turning. Quickly, she sheathed her revolvers and looked over the edge to the deep, dark sea below.


	4. Show Them What You Got

_Two Years Later_

Exactly two years, one week, three days and four hours after Mata Hara had made a promise to one Monkey D. Luffy, a ebony haired girl could be seen standing boldly on the railing of a small Kuja tribe ship from the coast of Sabaody Archipelago. If anyone from the shore would have had any reason to take notice, they would have seen a dark, lean figure weighed down by a series of leather bullet belts.

In Mata Hara's limited experience, two years wasn't supposed to make that much of a difference. Her abilities in the Marines had grown very slowly. She had thought that that was the way of the world. What she couldn't see was that limited attention from her superiors had severely weakened her. The Navy was meant to push out mass not enhance individuals to their highest potential. All of this had become painfully apparent under the attentive instruction of both the Kuja tribe women and the Dark King himself.

What she had originally lost in weight, she had gained back in muscle. Her wavy black hair now reached her waist, twin braids framing either side of her face. Around her neck, a red bandana was tied neatly, bandages corseting her chest and shorts just below that. Twin revolvers sat low around her hips.

"It isn't a trap, Mats," Luffy sighed, coming forward to lean over the railing at her feet. Unsettling jade eyes snapped down to the boy, Mata's face an indifferent mask.

"It's two years," the girl whispered, grabbing hold of one of the nearby lines to steady herself as the ship came into dock. "How do we know that they'll even be here?"

His teeth flashed in a toothy grin, rubbing his nose. "They're my friends. They'll be here."

There was no way to argue with him, Mata thought moodily, watching him grab a bag that looked like it contained a whole entire city and shrugging into it. Frowning after him, she watched as Boa stopped him and they chatted for a moment before the plank was lowered and Luffy disembarked. If it had been up to them, she would have stayed on that island for the rest of her life, safely away from any danger and more importantly, any Marines.

"Luffy's Bodyguard!" Mata's shoulders tensed at the familiar voice and then slowly turned, giving the raven-haired princess a stiff bow. Boa Hancock had never bothered to learn Mata's name. All she needed to know was that the girl was less beautiful than the princess and that she was Luffy's protector rather than valid love interest. Boa gave her a stern look. "You must protect my love. With your life."

"Dammit," Mata breathed, hiding her expression with one final bow before leaning over to grab her satchel and flipping off the side of the ship and to the dock below where a few civilians skittered away to avoid being taken down by an errant foot. Scowling, she waited a moment for Luffy. "Just know that I don't approve."

"Aw, come on, Mats," Luffy laughed, pulling his cloak hood lower over his face. "It'll be fun."

Mata didn't say what she was thinking as she followed after her captain, keeping the description of the holding cells at Marineford and Impel Down to herself. Instead she focused on running a finger over everything that she past, most especially all the weapons.

"If you keep looking like that, you're going to drive away all the people," Luffy whined softly to her, catching her eyes as she glanced at him from the corners. Glumly, she noted that he was still taller than her by an inch or so. She had hoped that that would have somehow changed on the long voyage here.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You're doing that scowl - snarl thing that you always do-"

"Are you trying to irritate me?"

"Seriously. Stop it. We're trying to stay low-"

"I am low key. I don't have a giant backpack filled with food on me. _You_ should stop it-"

"No, you-"

Luffy bumped into someone, sending the giant, beer bellied man flying backward, a gun still in his hands. For a moment, neither noticed, their eyes still locked in a furious battle of wills but at the gasp both of them stopped.

Sabaody seemed to be a relatively peaceful island, with multi-colored bubbles popping all around them and trees reaching up through the colorful shops to create a leaf ceiling. Mist shadowed the area where the sky should be, creating a dewy, dreaminess that Mata had never come across. All in all, it seemed to be a place with low drama and general kindness. It was part of the reason why she hadn't pick pocketed anyone.

That was also why is was odd that they had seemed to attract a crowd, shivering villagers lining the path on either side. Mata Hara's eyes narrowed on the group of people standing just in front of them. All of them were dusted in dirt like fresh powdered donuts and they looked almost eerily familiar, like places you go to as a kid. All of them seemed to be on the disproportionate with faces that seemed to bulky for bodies or bodies that seemed to robust for normalcy.

"You knocked him over," Mata murmured, nodding in the direction of the man with the straw hat who was still sprawled out on the ground, his friends looking on in enraged awe. Luffy still hadn't turned around.

"Oh, did it hit you?" Luffy finally called back. "Sorry. Bye."

There was something wrong about the aura's pulsing around us, their lines wavering with nerves - fear. Mata's eyes narrowed, lasering in on a skeletal figure looming in the back of the pack of eight, a long nose protruding from a witchy face. The woman was so thin and spindly that for a moment Mata thought she might have been a grotesque puppet, her hair a frizzy black that poofed from her skull with blonde roots.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Straw hat suddenly screamed, leaping to his feet with an energy that honestly impressed her. Mata's fingers grazed over her revolvers, watching the man's monstrous approach.

Beside her, Luffy sighed, glancing up to the sky. "This isn't good…"

"This is why you're my captain," Mata sighed, drawing her revolvers and aiming them at the man so quickly that he stalled out. "I'm gonna have to ask you to stop right there, pumpkin. This is a no hands zone and the way you're looking at my friend here makes me think that you want to get a little handsy."

From the back of the group, there was a loud splitting cackle and Mata's eyes narrowed to slits as she caught sight of the sickly green eyes of the witch woman.

"Mata," Luffy snapped and although her face remained coolly impassive, her lips tightened, her fingers flexing on the triggers of her revolver.

"Boss," Mata replied back evenly and Luffy gave her a grin, staring at her with a warning. Shooting him a glare, she cussed fouly causing a few mothers in the crowd to gasp and cover their child's ears. In a flurry of movement, her revolvers were back in their holster and her arms were crossed, eyes turned to the ground.

Fattie laughed pompously, walking past Mata with a smirk and a pinch to her cheeks so that he could stand beside Luffy. Mata's palms itched, her daggers so close at her thighs. If she reached just a little lower than they would be there.

"I think you realize now how audacious your actions were." A ginger haired girl with a toothy grin put her arm around Mata's shoulder, not catching the dangerous glint in the girl's eyes.

"Pointing a gun at the captain. Not smart," the girl giggled before turning her attention to Luffy who currently had the straw hat's beefy arm on his head. "That's why you two are so scared you can't even talk!"

"I'm more afraid of doing the dishes," Mata groused, earning her a sharp glance from ginger.

"A few moments ago, a man who has a long nose," the big, bulky man in a mask started. "And a woman with long hair messed with us, so our captain is in a bad mood. You better apologize now. Kneel on the ground!"

"Aw, _hell_ no," Mata snarled, shoving back against the ginger girl's tightening hold as the green eyed witch gave another cackle and Mata realized that she had a lazy eye. And that she also might be a little out of her mind.

"You don't want to throw your life away with just one mistake," a blue haired guy with obnoxiously large forearms drawled, gnawing at the end of a lit cigarette. "Our captain pulls his trigger very easily."

 _So do I_ , Mata thought snarkily, only holding her tongue at Luffy's sharp glance. Growling, she shoved the ginger away with a hand to the face.

"I'm really sorry," Luffy said after a long pause and Mata finally brought up a heel to kick the leechy little cretin away from her. "We better go now!"

And with the next step he took, he knocked the straw hat guy over again. It all happened in slow motion. The guy was so sluggish that Mata could have yawned if she wasn't too busy debating whether or not she should step in.

But a puny attack like this would never have gotten to her captain. She had watched Luffy train and she knew above everything else that he had not only developed his haki to near perfection but that he could move about as quick as her. And his moves weren't even based around agility like hers were.

Deftly, Mata moved out of the way as all five went slamming to the ground like fallen trees. She nudged at the bigger, masked one, sighing.

"Boss," she called, eyeing the pistol in the straw-hatted one's fingers. "Can I-?"

"No." Mata glanced back at her captain indifferently before sighing and jogging to catch up with Luffy.

"I'm starting to think that being a Marine was about as fun as being a pirate is," she muttered, catching Luffy's smirk. "You never let me pickpocket."

"Maybe I should put _it_ on." Luffy pulled out a ridiculous looking mustache with a red nose. Mata grimaced. He smiled at her. "Hancock gave it to me. Isn't she nice?"

"Please don't put that on."

"Mata! Mata, look! It's reacting," Luffy suddenly whispered, his palm upturned and showing a vivre paper which twitched lightly in his hand. "I think it's this way."

Mata didn't respond, keeping a wary eye out for the crowd. They had drawn a lot of attention with that fight before and there seemed to be an odd amount of pirates milling around.

The paper inched right and Mata warily peered down the alley that it was going towards. Five ragged, bleeding men were sprawled out while five others laughed over their carcasses.

"Put it on," Mata whispered, quickly taking the mustache and shoving it onto his face.

"There seem to be a lot of pirates around," Luffy mused as they moved farther into the town. The ebony haired girl gave a slow nod, her fingers sliding to the revolvers at her hips. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "Oh, you guys!"

Standing in the middle of the lane, were a blonde and a rather portly man with a shock of green hair. The other one was dressed sharply with a permed poof of blonde hair.

"Hey!" the blonde exclaimed, pointing at us in shock. Mata's eyes narrowed. Their aura's pulsed with anxiety. "Friends! You both need to come with us."

"If you just come quietly than we won't have any trouble." A slow growl slithered from the ebony haired girl's lips. That sounded a lot like a threat. Greenie gulped, his eyes wide and scared as sweat dampened his shirt.

"Our captain is very angry," blondie said. "Give up on living a long life. What? Are you too scared to even talk?"

Mata was guessing that the people that they had ran into earlier were the cause of this. Not that it particularly mattered. If they were as weak willed as their captain than this was going to be a piece of cake. _Oh_. Mata glanced to the side, catching sight of a pastry shop in the shape of a giant, strawberry cake slice. That sounded like a good idea. Maybe they could get some. They had been walking for so long-

"So you're Sanji, aren't you?" Mata blinked. _Sanji? The best cook in the world Sanji?_ This guy didn't even look like he could make toast. And from what she had heard from Luffy, he was a casanova. The guy in front of her hadn't so much as glanced in her direction except to make sure that she didn't have her guns out. Giving him a smile, she held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "And you must be Zoro! Long time no see!"

Emerald eyes widened, lips thinning in shock as she took another look at the man standing just beside her. This was Zoro? Although she didn't say anything and instead followed diligently behind Luffy as he walked animatedly after the pair. She was a little bit disappointed if she was being honest with herself. Out of all the crew members, she was most intrigued by the swordsman. Maybe that had something to do with how much Luffy talked about him but it also had to do with what Luffy had described as an amazing talent with swords.

"Well, people change a lot," Luffy was saying. "You guys don't talk much, do you?"

A dagger was suddenly held against the pudgy throat of the green haired man's throat, Mata not even glance away from the lane in front of them as the sharp edge sliced delicately into his skin. A dribble of blood rolled down the blade. The ebony haired girl frowned in disappointment, sending Luffy a glum stare.

"You said that he was strong, boss," Mata murmured, the dagger dancing between her fingers before continuing it's jig into the air and sliding to her thigh holsters on its own. Mata sighed. "He can't even defend himself against a dagger."

"Aw, I'm sure he's just tired," Luffy laughed, patting Zoro so roughly on the shoulder that he went stumbling forward. Both Sanji and greenie leaned closer to each other, whispering worriedly and Mata's frown intensified. "But I didn't think that you two were ever so friendly. I guess two years really does change a lot."

It was a lot of walking. They were taken all along the outskirts of the village and then back until the villages broke away to nothing and then the landscape was suddenly dotted with rubble. They were led around a backward kind of way so by the time that they stepped up to finally be beside Zoro and Sanji's new "captain" the crowd that had formed below the rubble in the grassy plains below was roaring. The five people that we had run into earlier were standing triumphantly atop the rubble, high above the pirates below. Mata's shoulders tensed as she took in the crowd, the ginger girl catching sight of her immediately and pulling her into a tight side hug.

"Miss me?" she hissed, pinching her shoulders roughly.

"You know it, pumpkin," Mata drawled back and ginger hissed out a breath.

"WE'VE FOUND TWO OF THE PERPETRATORS WHO INSULTED US!" Straw hat roared. "IT'S THESE TWO! We'll teach both of them a lesson about how formidable I am. And what I'm about to do to them is a warning to you all, as well. If you mess with me this is how you're going to end up as well! Do you understand?"

"Their cheering over potentially being slaughtered for getting mouthy," Mata murmured, obviously confused. Her eyes met Luffy's and then moved to Zoro's. "This is your new captain? You sure have bad taste."

"Yeah. What's the matter with this guy?" Luffy questioned, turning to Sanji and Zoro. "Do you know him?"

"Huh?" Sanji blinked.

"Well, you see, a little while ago-" His words were cut off at the rapid beat of boots hitting dirt.

"Boss, we got trouble," Mata whispered and in the dewy atmosphere of Sabaody, her eyes suddenly seemed luminous, the irises glowing so brightly that the ginger girl gasped, backing away from her. Marine's - millions of them - circled the pirates. Sweat popped up on Mata's skin, her expression going from one of mild amusement to one of stony indifference, her revolvers in her hands.

"THAT'S IT, YOU PIRATES!" the head Marine yelled but he was so scared that his voice shook. "Straw Hat Luffy and his followers, just surrender! We're blocking off every exit of Grove #46."

"Huh? How did the Navy find out about me?" Luffy muttered in confusion.

"I don't think that's what we need to be worried about right now," Mata said evenly, her mind already tightening on all of the items that she had touched on her way into this town.

"HEY, CARIBOU!" the man in the straw hat suddenly screamed. "Use the Navy soldiers as a shield and make your way out!"

Mata held her breath in horror as a wiggling Marine was held up by a guy with olive skin and a reptilian tongue. He was skewered. He was bleeding from a wound from a stake that was driven through his side. And then with little thought, Caribou shot him. And then he was dead.

And then both groups were charging each other.

"Boss, this is bad! Let's run!" They witchy girl actually looked worried, her pencil-thin brows crinkling. Suddenly, Luffy and Mata weren't in the conversation anymore. No one cared that they had been brought here as sacrifices.

Uselessly, straw hat yelled out at the pirates, trying to make them loyal.

"Why are they calling me boss, Mata?" Luffy asked, clearly perplexed.

It was useless bloodshed. And it made Mata sick.

"Boss, we need to go." An explosion signaled the Pacifistas just a moment after Mata realized that they had docked. Her hand flicked out, her fingers curling before she jerked it back to her chest. "I don't give a damn if your friends are here but I am not letting you be taken by the Marines. _Tidalwave_."

Pots and pans, carts filled with food and any other item that had the misfortune of being touched by Mata Hara went crashing into the poor Marines still getting off the ship, knocking at least two hundred into a heap of unconscious bodies.

"Return," Mata hissed, throwing her arms out again and watching as the items went flying back to wherever they had come from.

"So he was posing as me?" Luffy looked at Mata. "That guy was posing as me, Mata."

"Does that mean Sanji and Zoro were imposters to?" she questioned, wiping the sweat from her neck.

"Oh," Luffy murmured, realization suddenly dawning on his face. "Oh, that's sad."

"Thank god," Mata whispered, very happy that the men she had been hearing about for going on three years weren't in fact spineless little backstabbers.

"We better go," Luffy said with a nod, heading off in the opposite direction of the battle. "I wonder where they could be…"

Suddenly there was an explosion and Mata felt heat prickle her back. "Dammit, boss."

"Better jump!" Luffy cheered and Mata gritted her teeth, crouching down and spinning her hands in an intricate loop before jumping.

"Fuwa," she whispered, her hands skating just above the heat of the blast as gravel flew into her face. Damn. She knew that she needed to get some goggles. Cussing, she rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"What are you doing?!" She heard Luffy scream. "This bag is holding all of my precious food! Not to mention that I've kind of grown to like Mattie!"

Mumbling, she threw him a thumbs up, still blinking away the dirt in her eyes as she floated in the air. Power coursed steadily through her veins, making her fingertips tingle and oddly enough also her nose. She sneezed, cussing. Pirates below had turned to stare up at the girl, their eyes opened wide in wonder. For a moment, they thought that some kind of fairy had wandered into their midst. It was like Mata was trapped underwater, her hair and clothes rippling slowly as her power pulled it to and fro. Deftly, she spun, her knees, lying in the air like it were a giant swimming pool.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Mata suddenly cussed, straightening in the air with a swiftness that startled the pirates below. Her face went red as she screamed. "What did I tell you?! Keep the cape on! That's all you had to do! Now we have to fight all these Marines! Plus the stupid girl that looks like she should be running a ramen shop and-"

Her rant was overshadowed by the massive scream of recognition from all below. "IT'S HIM! AND THAT - THAT'S MATA HARA!"

Mata blinked, turning to stare down at all the people below and then sighed. No use hiding it anymore. "Damn skippy it is. How you boys doin'?"

"Straw Hat and the traitor! It's our lucky day, men!" Mata's brows raised and she quickly drew her daggers and deftly let them drop, the blades flashing in the dewy light as they hovered, spinning quickly below her feet like a ring of pure steel. She had never liked Sentomaru. He had refused to even speak to her on many occasions. One of his main rules was that he would never answer any questions. Slowly, Mata took out her revolvers, running a finger over the bullets crossing her waist and chest.

"Are you gonna get in my way again?" Luffy demanded, crouching beside his bag filled with food. He looked absolutely outraged by the notion. "I've been told not to cause trouble in order to set sail."

"Don't worry!" Sentomaru yelled back. "You won't need to set sail!"

"I disagree," Mata called, earning a sharp glance from the big man but his lips tightened before he looked away. The ebony haired girl smirked. "What? Silent treatment? Sentomaru~ I thought we were closer than this. Don't want to converse with a traitor? You're breaking my heart."

"Unlike two years ago, I'm now an official member of the Navy!" Sentomaru screamed, trying to regain some of his composure. "I'm going to catch you and your rodent here! PX-5!"

"Mata!" The ebony haired girl grinned, giving him her first full grin since they had gotten onto the ship headed for Sabaody.

"You always know how to make my day, boss!" Mata cheered, flicking her wrist as she turned her attention away from the boy in the straw hat as he deftly avoided the blasts from PX-5. " _Dagger dance_."

Slowly, as if they were loosening their metallic muscles, the daggers circling both of her thighs slipped from their holsters, joining their sisters at her feet. Deliberately, she nodded at the men below her feeling the power tick through her fingers as all of the blades shot toward the first line of Marines.

When her feet touched the ground, the gravel splintered, sending both pirates and Marines stumbling back. Above her head like a halo of steel and death, her daggers formed. Contrary to popular belief, they weren't in fact there to safeguard her. They were there in case Luffy's life was in danger, their blades humming as Mata kept a careful eye on him.

"Get the traitor Mata Hara!" one of the soldiers suddenly screamed and then all of them were charging her.

Mata Hara hadn't spent her last two years sitting and watching Monkey D. Luffy train. She hadn't made them little packed lunches and hoped for the best. She had been training along with him. And when she wasn't she could usually be found in the arena of the Kuja Tribe, facing off against their giant cat.

The ebony haired girl's eyes flashed once before she was spinning, firing off nine shots and then quickly slapping out her cartridges as she crouched, drawing her daggers back from their circle in the air to stab into the backs of the men that had circled her. " _Recharge_ ," was the last thing most of the men around her heard before the clips in her revolver were back in place and she was firing.

"TIME TO GO!" She heard Luffy holler distantly and realized that all around her was a rather large sea of bodies. Without a second thought, she flipped onto her hands, getting away from the crowd so quickly that the men were still firing at the emptiness that she had left. Daggers and revolvers slid back into their spot with a neatness that belied the impassive expression that had fallen across her face. With one deft jump, she was on the rubble that both Luffy and her had stared across the grove at just a moment ago.

"Don't let them run! PX-7!" She heard Sentomaru scream and growling she pulled out her revolvers once more and skidded to a stop, sending dust flying everywhere as she took aim of the pacifista who had leapt onto the rubble just in front of her, his empty eyes intent on Luffy.

Mata shouldn't have even reached for the weapons. By the time that she had aimed, PX-7 was already exploded in a hail of fiery metal dust. And a green haired man with a sword in his mouth and another in a black suit were flying through the smoke right at her.

"Eh." A dark eye met hers, the other scarred as Mata turned, sidestepping him but unable to get a good degree of distance between them as they spun, almost switching positions. Mata blinked. Zoro blinked. Unwanted, her eyes slid down to take in the well defined planes of his chest and the scar running crudely through the muscles. "You're shorter than I thought you would be."

Mata blinked. "Huh?"

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro called, brushing past her as he sheathed his swords leaving Mata to try and decipher what he had just said. "You're the 9th!"

"Shut up!" the blonde screamed. "Cut it out!" Suddenly his eyes landed on the ebony haired girl, his eyes immediately falling on the slim curve of her waist and the bit of cleavage that could be seen peeking over the thick layer of bandages covering her torso. "Pretty lady! You are so much prettier in person. Like a flower about to bloom in the spring heat-"

"You idiot," Zoro drawled, slapping Sanji in the face. "Everybody's on the ship."

"Luffy," Mata suddenly whispered, anxiety clogging her pores for one irrational moment. These were the people that he had been telling her about for the last couple of days. And they had all read the disgusting details of her past in the Marines. And how she had turned her back on them in one moment for someone that she was supposed to kill. Her fingers rubbed reflexively at the coarse skin running over her forearms, the word running repeatedly through her brain like a beeping fire alarm.

Wide, honest eyes met hers and in one moment they were closing, a grin creasing his face as he laughed. "Let's go, Mats."

She had no choice. Emotionally she was still conflicted but her feet were already moving swiftly after all of them.

"It's really been a long time," Luffy laughed. "I wonder how everyone is! I'm so happy."

Distantly, Mata felt the itch of a presence and she glanced back at the dark figure before nudging Luffy. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh," Luffy murmured, skidding to a stop and turning sharply to stare up at the cloaked man. Rayleigh had watched the whole attack, his eyes critical and his smile thin. He enjoyed watching his two students fight. He enjoyed that they both could defend themselves in ways that most people couldn't because it meant that they would survive. It meant that he wouldn't see their pictures, bloody and bashed in a newspaper one day.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mata heard Zoro call and she turned, catching his gaze and then nodding to the man on the hill. "Oh."

"RAYLEIGH!" Luffy screamed happily and the old man's smile widened as he caught Mata's eyes who simply shrugged although the emerald depth sparkled with concealed laughter.

"I came here to check on you both but you seem alright." Rayleigh deliberately used that last word. _Alright_. Mata tsked. _There was more work to be done_. "Your powers sure have improved. Both of you. Now go to your friends!" Rayleigh caught Mata's eyes. "And make sure to make a good impression, you hear me, Mata girl?"

He gave her a slow, secretive smile. Privately, he was more than intrigued by the way that the swordsman and the blonde kept eyeing the girl. He laughed softly. He was mildly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to watch.

"Rayleigh!" Luffy called, regaining the attention of the older man. "Thank you for everything these past years!"

"You're out of character!" Rayleigh laughed. "Just go!"

Setting down his pack, Luffy stepped forward and raised his fists defiantly. "Rayleigh! I'll do it! I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!"


End file.
